The two of us
by Crazy Mokis
Summary: Life portraits of a happy family... but happiness it's forever?


THE TWO OF US  
  
Author: Crazy Mokis (Mònica) Summary: Family portraits.... Disclaimer: I do not own them Author's notes: Kind of based in a true story. Slight mention to Play with fire. Song quoted in the first part of the story: "There will never be another tonight" Bryan Adams. The one used at the end: "Waitin' on a sunny day" Bruce Springsteen.  
  
YOU AND ME  
  
Students were trying to note down all the things he was trying to make them understand. Their faces were very expressive. They did not understand nothing about insects and other life forms. Someone was smiling while all the others in the class had their heads buried into their notebooks. Finally, the class ended and they all breathed in relief. One by one, they left the classroom.  
  
"Well, how did I do it?" he asked to the one in the last row.  
  
"I think they haven't understand anything, honey. You shouldn't be so exigent with them. They are only 19 and in their first year." She said walking towards her husband.  
  
"Sara, you're always encouraging me." His tone was sarcastic. "What would I do without you?" Grissom asked her.  
  
"Oh, I 'm sure you'd find someone to substitute me." She then, kissed Grissom as passionate as she could.  
  
"Honey someone could see us" she continued kissing his lips and neck. He giggled. "Honey...."  
  
"I don't care about the others. I just want to be with you baby."  
  
Grissom, pointing his watch, and with an evil smile on his face, said:  
  
"It's late. I should take you home."  
  
"You want to take me home?" she asked  
  
"Well, if you have better plans rather than making love with me..."  
  
"Oh, I think your plans are just perfect."  
  
They kissed again and left the college building to go home. They had been married for a year. Now, Grissom, was a teacher at the UNLV and Sara was still working in the crime lab. They hadn't many time left to spend together but they really used it. They finally arrived at their home, a two- floor house on a residential neighbourhood, good for kids.  
  
After closing the door, Grissom embraced his wife from behind.  
  
"It's great to have you one night at home. I miss doing normal things with you." He buried his face on her hair. They spent a few minutes kissing and caressing until Sara said:  
  
"What would you like to do?"  
  
"Lock the two of us in the room and don't go out until next year"  
  
"Gil, next year comes in two months"  
  
"That early?"  
  
She nodded in response.  
  
"Then lock you with me in the bedroom forever"  
  
They both laughed. Sara thought about how things had change since their got together. They both seemed to be different persons. They talked more, they laughed more and, above all, now they enjoyed their lives.  
  
"Would you like Chinese food for dinner?" he asked  
  
"I'll cook something" she said  
  
Grissom noticed she was a little angry.  
  
"Why we don't go out like if we were on a date? I would treat you as a queen."  
  
"You always do it" she said back  
  
They stared at each other for a few seconds, Grissom memorising for the thousandth time, all about her.  
  
"What are you staring at?" she asked laughing  
  
"how beautiful you are. I love how you look. You're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen."  
  
"I'm starting to believe all that and it's dangerous, you know..."  
  
"Believe it, I don't mind to be in danger."  
  
"My ego is rising. I'm sure soon I will act as a consented woman."  
  
"Act like it. I will always be at your feet" He said.  
  
They both bursted into laugh. They kissed passionately again.  
  
"Put on your best dress darling. Tonight will be the night"  
  
"Honey, stop quoting songs. It's not your style."  
  
She kissed him again. "I'm going to get dressed."  
  
"Can I be with you? I could help you" he said smiling evily.  
  
"Shut up your mouth and wait for me" she said to him pushing him to the couch.  
  
"I have no intention to go anywhere baby"  
  
Sara went to the bedroom and opened the wardrobe. All were suits, jeans and t-shirts. She remembered having a short green night dress. After, a quarter searching for it, she found the dress at the bottom of a pile of t-shirts.  
  
'I don't have time to iron it. Let's see if it is good like this' She decided to wear it. She put on some make-up and did her hair. She, then, looked at her image reflected on the mirror. She, still, couldn't understand what Grissom could love about her figure. She made her appearance on the living room.  
  
"I'm ready"  
  
"Honey, you're breath-taking." Grissom really meant it. To him, she was the most beautiful woman on the whole world.  
  
"Shall we get going, Mr.Grissom?" she said taking his hands into hers.  
  
"Let's go Mrs. Grissom"  
  
He led the way outside their house and opened the passenger door of their new car for her and went to his side.  
  
"Sara, I love you" he simply said. She looked at him directly into his eyes.  
  
"Drive."  
  
He obeyed her orders. They didn't speak a word. They loved to hear music while in the car. Grissom was still amazed by his luck, even two years after, of finally being able to declare his feelings for her. She had told him, it wasn't too late. It had been worth to resign from his work at the lab, just to be with her. Sara had wanted to be the one to leave but he had insisted on resigning. After all, she still had her life in front of her. He was reaching 50, so he had nothing left to do. The only thing he wanted now, was to spend the rest of his life with Sara and teach at University. It was time to relax and enjoy the good things in life.  
  
MY BABY SMILE. (One year later)  
  
"I hate you Gil. How could you this to me?" Sara Sidle, Mrs. Grissom, was sweating and dying of pain at every contraction.  
  
"Honey don't squeeze my hand so hard" Grissom was in pain too.  
  
"Mr. Grissom keep talking to her and encouraging her to push." Said Dr. Lisa Thomas, Sara's obstetrician.  
  
"Have you listened honey? Keep pushing baby"  
  
"Ahhh!!! This hurts" exclaimed Sara.  
  
"Keep pushing sweetie... one more push" said Grissom to his wife.  
  
"Sara, I can see the baby's head. You only need to push hard a little more" Said Dr. Thomas.  
  
"We'll do it together baby"  
  
"Ok, Sara, now push"  
  
"Let's do it baby, push..." Grissom kissed her wife and hold her hand again.  
  
"Good Sara... another one"  
  
Sara pushed again. A cry of a baby was heard and she closed her eyes to rest a moment. Grissom couldn't stop kissing her. Dr. Thomas hold the baby and made Gil cut the cord. Then, the doctor handled the little girl to her mother.  
  
"You're beautiful Elizabeth" Sara said  
  
"The both of you are the most beautiful. I love you both" Grissom said to his wife and then kissed his newborn daughter slightly on the forehead. "You are the best thing in my life."  
  
Dr. Thomas observed them. They were the perfect family. A loving father, a caring mother and a beautiful baby girl. Two days after, they returned home with a new family member.  
  
Lizzie grew up and soon she was six months old. She was giving a hard time to her mother. Like her parents, Lizzie liked to experiment things by herself, so she was always in trouble.  
  
"Lizzie, stop putting your fingers on all the plugs you find. You're driving me mad little girl."  
  
"Honey, I'm home" Grissom kissed his wife.  
  
"How's been your day?" she asked  
  
"Boring. I've got 30 exams to correct. Lizzie come with daddy" he said holding her and playing with her.  
  
"I've left dinner on the fridge. It's ready. I've to go."  
  
"What? It's only 6 pm. You don't have to be at the lab until 11pm"  
  
It was the third time that week that Sara had to leave for work early. She wasn't spending too much time at home. Grissom had began to feel he was, somehow, loosing her. She wasn't the loving Sara anymore, she was the workaholic Sara again. Work absorbed her and her family were the hurt ones.  
  
"Gil, I'll be back early in the morning, before you leave. I have to go now"  
  
Sara took Lizzie into her arms.  
  
"Baby, mom has to go now. I'll miss you"  
  
Then Sara passed her daughter back to Grissom, kissed him and left without saying goodbye.  
  
"We're alone again Lizzie. It's becoming an usual thing, don't you think?  
  
Lizzie was staring at him, not understanding anything.  
  
"What do you want to do?" he asked. "Oh, you let me decide? Ok. So, why don't we have dinner and then we correct the exams? It sounds like a good plan."  
  
Lizzie started crying.  
  
"I know baby. I miss mom too, but she has a very important job to do."  
  
Grissom was preparing dinner when someone knocked the door. Exasperated, he went open it. It was Catherine.  
  
"Ah, it's you. Make yourself at home" he said walking back to the kitchen.  
  
"It's great to see you too." Catherine followed him. She noticed the mess in the kitchen.  
  
"Griss, sit down. I'll feed you both. How are things going?" she asked.  
  
"Well, as always. Sara is all the time at the lab and Lizzie and I spend time watching bugs on tv."  
  
"Gil, Sara is now very important at the lab. Things are moving these days, and she has a great opportunity to advance in her career."  
  
"I know. But it seemed family was the most important thing to her, but now, we're only a stone in her path."  
  
"Gil, calm down. It will only be for a short period. Then she'll be back to normal. Shall we have dinner?"  
  
But things never went back to normal. Lizzie had started kindergarten and her mother hadn't been there. The day she had played the principal role in a school's function, Sara hadn't been there. When she had broken her right arm, her father had to leave classes to take her to the hospital because her mother was working a double shift. They were no longer a family and Grissom had known it for a long time.  
  
TUMBLING DOWN (Five years later)  
  
"Elizabeth!" Sara yelled.  
  
That wasn't good, Lizzie thought. When her mother used her full name, something was wrong. She was only six years old, but she had learnt soon to distinguish when her mom was in bad mood.  
  
"Mommy"  
  
"Elizabeth, didn't I tell you to organize this mess? Do you think I have time to worry about the disasters you make around?" Sara was angry, her face red furious.  
  
Grissom had watched all the scene in silence. He couldn't believe Sara was acting that way. He didn't know her anymore. She wasn't the Sara he had loved all those years.  
  
"Sara stop. Lizzie is crying." He went to hold his daughter in his arms.  
  
"Have you seen this mess? I need your help. I can't do it all by myself." Sara closed her eyes.  
  
"Sara, she's only a child" Grissom said.  
  
"But she has to learn. I can't control her always."  
  
"How can you control her, if you're not at home?" Now, he was the angry one.  
  
"Don't start again, Gil"  
  
"When we wake up, you're not here. When I put her to sleep, you've already left for work. You hardly go to the school meetings."  
  
Sara tried to say something but he cut her.  
  
"What about us Sara? We're not together anymore. I can't hardly remember the last time we spent an hour together just talking, relaxing. Work is the most important thing to you."  
  
Sara wanted to scream NO, that they were the most important thing to her, that she loved them madly. But in the thime she took to think about how saying all those things, he had already made his decision.  
  
"We're leaving. I can't take this anymore. I'll pack some things and we'll leave. We'll be better alone. In fact we've been alone for a long time."  
  
Sara wanted to do something but her arrogance didn't let her say anything.  
  
"No, I'll be the one to leave. You're right, we're not a family. I don't fit here anymore."  
  
They stared at each other for a long minute. Sara, then, went to the bedroom, packed some things and left, kissing her child and without saying anything to Grissom.  
  
One month later, she found the divorce papers on her desk.  
  
NO FUTURE (Four years later)  
  
The living room was full. All were there. Catherine, Warrick, Nick and even Greg.... And a lot of children with their parents. It was Lizzie's tenth birthday.  
  
"Come on sweetie, blow the candles" Grissom said to Lizzie.  
  
"Don't forget to make a wish" remembered her Nick, her Godfather.  
  
She blew the candles wishing the same thing she wished every year, to see their parents together again.  
  
They both had been different since they got divorced. Her dad acting as always but over-protective. Her mom making her realize, she was the most important thing in her life. Both extremely sad.  
  
Lizzie had a wonderful afternoon. She played with her friends, got a lot of presents and happy because Lindsay, now 19, had promised her to take her shopping next time she was in town from college.  
  
At 9 pm, everybody had left Grissom's house except Catherine, that had the night off.  
  
"Lizzie pack a bag and go to bed. Mom is coming to pick you up early"  
  
"ok Dad, ok."  
  
Grissom turned his head to Catherine and ask her:  
  
"Vodka?"  
  
"Yeah, vodka will be fine"  
  
He served them the drinks and sat in front of her on the couch.  
  
"She's a beautiful little lady, Griss. You're doing a good job." Cath said slightly touching his arm.  
  
"She is the greatest him that has ever happened to me. I just only wish..."  
  
"I know Gil I know. Have you talked to her?"  
  
"The last time we spoke was two months ago and we ended fighting. We always fight. I wish we could be together... no no... I wish I could forget her and start a new life."  
  
"She has changed a lot these years. People from day shift say she no longer does extra hours, not to talk about double-shifts." Catherine said.  
  
"Do you remember how things used to be?" He asked  
  
"I remember the day Lizzie was born. I've never seen the two of you so happy." Cath answered smiling bitterly.  
  
Grissom also remembered that day. It had been the happiest day he had lived. All seemed perfect. He had a wife he loved passionately and a baby that was the most precious thing he had ever seen. But those times were far away.  
  
"I should get going. I want to spent some time with Lindsay before she goes back to college."  
  
"Thank you for coming"  
  
"It's always nice to see you" She said while embracing him.  
  
Grissom closed the door behind Catherine and served him another Vodka. He heard his daughter's giggles coming from the upper floor.  
  
"Lizzie hang up the phone and go to bed"  
  
"Dad! I can't believe there was a time you nearly went deaf.... I talk to you on monday Mandy."  
  
He smiled to himself. He couldn't get angry with Elizabeth.  
  
Next morning at 8:20 am, someone knocked the door.  
  
"Lizzie, mom's here" Grissom shouted while walking down the stairs.  
  
"I'm coming"  
  
As always Sara come for Lizzie, he felt nervous. His knees still trembled every time he saw her. It was incredible after all those years. He opened the door.  
  
"Grissom" Sara said coldly trying to hide the emotion of seeing them.  
  
"Sara" The air between them could be cut with a paper. Lizzie was observing them from upstairs.  
  
"Do you want to enter?" he asked  
  
"No. I'm fine right here" she answered  
  
"Mom!" Elizabeth ran to her mother.  
  
"Lizzie! Honey, I've missed you so much"  
  
Sara couldn't forgive herself for being such a bad mother when Elizabeth was younger. It had cost her life. She couldn't recover Grissom's love, but she could be a better mother for her daughter.  
  
LOVE IN MY BLOOD (6 years later)  
  
Sara stopped the car in front of the high school main entrance, and, bend to kiss her teenage daughter. She was stopped by Lizzie's yell.  
  
"Mom!"  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you in front of your friends"  
  
"It's ok mom... Oh, here's Kevin. I've to go"  
  
"Is he taking you to the prom dance?" Sara asked  
  
"Yeah, he has finally realized I'm more interesting than that bitch of Anne"  
  
"Lizzie watch your words"  
  
"I'm sorry mom"  
  
Elizabeth put on her jacket and was about to leave when Sara stopped her.  
  
"Is your dad still seeing that woman?"  
  
"Yeah. We went to the movies last week" Elizabeth knew how that affected her mother but she didn't want to lie to her.  
  
"Bye honey, I'll see you on friday"  
  
"Bye mom."  
  
Elizabeth saw her mother driving away. She knew it was the right time. In fact it had been the right time for years. Mandy, her best friend, and Kevin awoke her from her thoughts.  
  
"What were you thinking?" Kevin asked  
  
"Nothing"  
  
"I'm sure we'll have a great time today" mandy said "Don't you think Liz?"  
  
"Um... I'm not coming"  
  
"What?" her friends exclaimed at the same time.  
  
"Liz, you can't do this to me. We've been preparing this party for weeks." Mandy said to her.  
  
"I know, but I have to go to see my uncle Nick. It's a matter of life."  
  
Nick was playing baseball with his twin boys when saw Elizabeth crossing the street. She was like a sister to him as her mother had been long ago.  
  
"Lizzie, what are you doing her? You should be at school" Nick said while kissing her on the cheek  
  
"I know. I've skipped my last class. I needed to talk to you". Elizabeth was extremely nervous.  
  
"Honey what happens?"  
  
"mom happens" answered Lizzie.  
  
"Let's go inside"  
  
Cindy, Nick's wife, was working on her computer on the living room.  
  
"Liz, it's great to see you"  
  
"Hi, aunt Cindy"  
  
"Would you like something to drink?" Nick's wife asked her.  
  
"No, thanks"  
  
"Honey. Could you leave us alone for a moment?" Nick asked her wife.  
  
Cindy saw Elizabeth's face and nodded yes to him.  
  
"I'm going shopping with the twins. We'll be back in an hour or so." Cindy said and kissed her husband before leaving.  
  
"I found mom asleep on the couch this morning. She had the wedding pic again in her hands. It's the second time this year. I've seen them fighting all my life but I also seen they love each other, no matter what they say. So, how am I supposed to tell mom, Dad's marrying Alice in two months?"  
  
Elizabeth started crying. Nick sat by her side and embrace her.  
  
"It's ok honey. Everything will be alright. I'm here with you" he whispered  
  
"No! It's not ok!" Elizabeth jumped off of the couch. "I've seen denying what they feel for each other. I've seen them lying to each other for over ten years. I can't hold it anymore. I can't accept anymore. I want my parents together again"  
  
Nick knew Elizabeth was right. He had seen Sara regretting what had happened for a decade. It was time to do something about it. And he wasn't the only want who thought. All the couple's friends, in other time co- workers, thought the same.  
  
"I'll help you little girl... I promise I'll help you" Nick said to her holding her between his arms.  
  
Sara was waiting Nick when she saw someone familiar walking down the street, at the other side. It was Grissom and he wasn't alone. He was holding hands with a woman around 60 smiling widely as a child. Her world fell around her. Things couldn't had been worse.  
  
"Sara"  
  
"Nick"  
  
They entered the restaurant and sat on the only table available. The waitress came.  
  
"What will it be?" The waitress asked them  
  
"Coffee" Sara said  
  
"me too"  
  
"Ok. I'll be back in a min." The waitress, then, left them alone again.  
  
"Well Nick, What did you wanted to talk about?" asked a cold Sara.  
  
"Elizabeth came yesterday at home. She had skipped her last class and was crying."  
  
"What?! Why didn't you call me ? or why didn't you call her dad?" Sara was furious.  
  
"Stop calling Grissom only by her dad. Lizzie was crying because of you both" Nick answered angrily.  
  
Sara didn't have to ask why. Elizabeth had been the one who had suffered the most those past ten years.  
  
"Sara, I've seen you this last ten years. Every day I've seen you regretting what you did. You took the wrong decision and we all knew it. Sara I don't want to see you like this for another ten years. Don't be so stubborn and tell him you still love him"  
  
Nick waited for Sara's reaction. The waitress came with their coffees. Sara took a sip from hers.  
  
"It's too late Nick. I've seen him"  
  
"It's not too late Sara. At your first word he will run into your arms. Believe me"  
  
"Nick drop the subject. It's too late."  
  
Nick was very furious. He couldn't believe a word she was saying. How could she be so blind? How could she deny herself happiness? Nick stood up.  
  
"Damn it Sara! In two months it will be too late. Grissom is marrying." And then he left.  
  
Sara had been wrong. Things could be worse.  
  
Sara had been in the restaurant for hours. How could she had been so stupid? It all came so clear. She wanted Grissom and Elizabeth by her side forever. She had always wanted that.  
  
"Is everything ok, miss?" the waitress asked her.  
  
"Year" she smiled "You know... It's never too late"  
  
The waitress looked at her confused.  
  
Sara was decided. It was her last opportunity and she wouldn't let it pass. It didn't matter the result, but she had to tell him. She stopped the car in front of their house, or which had been her house long ago. She was afraid, very afraid, but she found the courage to knock the door.  
  
"Sara" Grissom said astonished.  
  
Sara looked at him. His hair was grey but he was still the more handsome man in the whole world.  
  
"Can I come in? I have something I would like to tell you"  
  
"Of course"  
  
Sara entered the house and made her way to the living room. Grissom hadn't changed anything. All was in the same place as when she left.  
  
"Do you want something to drink?" Grissom asked  
  
She nodded no in response.  
  
"Gil, I know you are marrying again" Sara begin  
  
"Sara.. I wanted to...."  
  
"Stop" Sara cut him putting her finger on his lips. She felt a shiver down her spine.  
  
"I don't give a damn about your reaction but I have to tell you" She made a brief pause "That night, first I didn't react fast enough to tell you that you and Elizabeth were the most important on my life. And when I finally could have say it, I was so stubborn I didn't do it. Gil, I'm still in love with you. Can you believe after all these years? I've missed you and Lizzie everyday for this past decade. I know you're with another woman now but I just had to tell you." Sara finished and kept looking at him directly to his eyes.  
  
He was serious. Sara knew it was the end of her last hope. She turned back and headed to the door, when something stopped her. It was his hand.  
  
"I've missed your touch" he said smiling. He embraced her and she burst in tears.  
  
"Sara, I'm still in love with you. I'll always be."  
  
And then, they kissed passionately like two teenagers loosing the sense of time.  
  
FOREVER IS NOT ENOUGH (Epilogue)  
  
"A man of 62 and a woman of 47 marrying. Isn't that weird?" Greg said to his friends.  
  
"You know what is weird Greg?" Greg nodded no "a man of 36 acting like a five year old boy" said Catherine holding Warrick's hand.  
  
The ceremony was about to begin so all of them went to their seats, except Catherine and Nick, that were the maid of honour and the godfather respectively.  
  
All of them had smiles on their faces. Even at 47, Sara made a beautiful bride and Grissom had always looked good on suits. It was the perfect ending for a nightmare that had started long ago and finally was about to finish.  
  
"I, Gil Robert Grissom, take Sara Sidle-Grissom to be my lawfully wedded wife and love her until death do us apart"  
  
It was her turn. Sara had butterflies on her stomach like a teenager that has recently found her first love.  
  
"I, Sara Sidle-Grissom, take Gil Robert Grissom to be my lawfully wedded husband and love him until death do us apart"  
  
"By the powers invested in my person by the state of Nevada i declare you, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride"  
  
He looked at her smiling, searching for her complicity. She was eager to receive his kisses again as her wife, so impatient for Grissom's first step, she grabbed his jacket, led him to her and kiss him passionately accompanied by guest's applauses. When finished, they looked at each other smiling widely. Then Grissom said to her "You know, your smile, girl, brings a morning light to my eyes"  
  
Elizabeth looked at them and tried to keep the image in her mind. It was the happiest day in her life. After ten years wishing it, finally she saw her parents together again.  
  
Finally it's finished. Sincerely, I didn't know what to write on the epilogue, so excuse me if it's not very good. 


End file.
